Tag: Kubwa

Leo Hassan is the father of 11-year-old Emmanuel Hassan, one of the pupils at the Local Education Authority School, Kubwa, Abuja, said to have died of meningitis. He tells OLALEYE ALUKO that the family suspects foul play

What was Emmanuel’s position among your children?

He was my first son. I have two girls and two boys. He was the elder of the boys. He was 11 and we are from the Kachia Local Government Area of Kaduna State.

When did you notice that he was sick?

He was not sick. This was a boy who went to school on Tuesday. But on Wednesday, he woke up late and he was not prepared to go to school. He said that if he went, he would be punished by his teachers. I said to him; since you cannot go to school, take your younger brother to school and they went together.

By 11am, he was not back from the school. Before he came back, we all heard rumours that someone shared biscuits in the school and parents were rushing to take their kids away. But when he eventually came back, there was no sign that anything was wrong with him.

I initially went to the school and saw parents running to pick their kids from the school. I even told them to be calm that nothing bad would happen. Around 5pm when I came back to the house, I entered the sitting room and I met them watching the television. But as he was watching the television, I saw how he reacted. I asked him if nothing was the problem. He said no.

Another time before evening, he said he wanted to sleep. I still asked him if there was any problem. He said nothing. I asked him if he ate out of the biscuits shared when he went to school, he did not answer me. After some minutes that we spoke, he suddenly held his stomach and shouted, “My stomach, my stomach”. That was all. We rushed him to the Kubwa General Hospital where he was confirmed dead. I think he arrived at the school when the biscuits were being shared. The younger brother had already been taken inside the class.

But the Federal Capital Territory Administration said the pupils died of cerebrospinal meningitis. How do you react to that?

Meningitis? How can the government say it is meningitis? Although I am not a doctor, I know that meningitis has symptoms and it does not kill suddenly. This was what my son said to me when he was about to collapse. He said, “Daddy, they said it is my turn. Pray for me, let me sleep.” And that was all. I still wonder what he meant by that statement. It can never be meningitis. When some things are wrong, let the government investigate.

Are you saying the government is wrong?

How would a boy who did not show any symptom suddenly collapse and die and you say it is meningitis? My son was in Primary 5. I believe it was not meningitis that killed him. We rushed him to the hospital and when we got there, we had not even come down from the car. A doctor and two other workers came and they did not even ask us what was wrong. They just tested him with a stethoscope and said he could not breathe again. I said so what would happen sir? The doctor looked at me and said, ‘I said your son can not breathe again’. He was stylishly confirming to me that Emmanuel was dead.

Have you ever seen anyone in the neighbourhood down with meningitis?

I am familiar with meningitis. I had once experienced that pain. If meningitis infects someone, the head would not be stable and the neck would be stiff. I can swear by my life that my son did not have meningitis. I know what I saw.

Have the government officials visited you?

Yes, they came on Thursday. I explained all what I told you to them. I did not hide anything. They said they would be back to tell us the next line of action, but I have not seen anyone since Thursday. We kept the boy from being buried till now. I’m disappointed that the government has not showed up again as promised. They collected my mobile number and even promised to call, but they have not done so. The Chairman of the Bwari Area Council also came to visit us along with officials of the FCTA.

What about the late boy’s mother?

She cannot talk to anybody presently. She is inside the house. She is still in trauma.

Eight residents died in Kubwa this week — Community leader

Tell us about yourself.

I am Umar Sule, the head of the butchers in the Hamza Abdullahi area, Kubwa village, Abuja.

What is your take on the death of pupils in the community?

Nobody has been able to say what caused the deaths. Two persons died on Wednesday; one died on Thursday and the other one is my elder brother’s son. On Friday morning, some other persons died. On Wednesday, when the incident occurred, the Area Council chairman went to the area including the chairman of the state Universal Basic Education. They invited investigators and saw the corpses. They talked to the parents of the deceased pupils. We are still in the dark. We have been organising daily prayers and asking God to stop the ill wind.

Did the government officials tell you that the pupils died of meningitis?

No, that has yet to be confirmed. When they came, they examined the corpses and said they suspected that the pupils died of meningitis. They said we should recall that a neighbouring state, Niger, has already recorded four deaths from the illness in the same week.

What do you have to say about the rumour that they died of food poisoning?

That was what the pupils kept saying, that they ate some biscuits in the school, but we have to believe the government or at least, the hospital. I know there are people who can poison other people’s children. But since we have not confirmed it, it is hard to begin to say anything. The initial three pupils, who died in the LEA school, are Rahinna Yahaya, Nanna Ubale and Yahaya Garba.

Another one is Emmanuel Hassan, who died on Thursday. There was also a boy, Abeeb, who was in the final year in secondary school. He died on Thursday morning too. In all, eight people died.

Is it true that elderly persons also died in the area?

Yes, two elderly persons died too during the week in the area. There were two Yoruba men who died on Thursday and Friday morning. I can’t recall their names yet. One of them came to my place on Thursday to sympathise with those whose kids died. We still don’t know what caused the deaths. The two elderly persons were rushed to the hospital but they didn’t survive.

Can you recall how some of the pupils died?

They all complained of stomach pains before dying. We had another young man who died on Thursday. He used to sell nails and batteries close to the LEA school and sometimes near the abattoir in the market. We don’t really know what led to the deaths.

One of the victims, Abeeb, who I said was a final year secondary school student, was a classmate of my son. He was supposed to sit for the West African Senior Secondary Certificate Examination this year. He was said to have gone to the LEA Primary School to pick his younger one on Wednesday. We are looking at a connection in all these deaths.

Have the police visited the area?

Yes, the police are involved. The Kubwa Divisional Police Officer came to the area on Wednesday. There are policemen at the LEA Primary School. When the commotion started on Wednesday, the police initially tried to prevent parents from rushing to pick their kids because some teachers said some parents were at work and some children might be stranded.

But the crowd broke the gate and took their kids away.

The DPO asked the police to take photographs of the corpses. He was in our area and advised us to calm down as investigations were ongoing. He said they were not folding their arms on the matter.

On Friday at the hospital, health workers took the blood and spinal cord samples to examine if meningitis caused the deaths. But up till now, we have not got the result of the tests.

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Punch Games

The Federal Capital Territory Administration has said the death of three pupils of the Local Education Authority Primary School, Kubwa, Abuja, was caused by Cerebrospinal Meningitis.

It denied that the children died of food poisoning.

The Special Assistant to the FCT Minister on Media, Abubakar Sani, said the Director of Public Health, Dr Humphrey Okoronkwo, stated that the three pupils died of meningitis.

“The FCT Director of Public Health, Dr Humphrey Okoronkwo, says three pupils in Kubwa school died of suspected cases of Cerebrospinal Meningitis, not food poisoning,” Sani said in an SMS.

The pupils were said to have died on Tuesday after consuming biscuits shared by an unidentified classmate.

Two others, who partook of the biscuits, were hospitalised at the Kubwa General Hospital.

Academic activities in the school were suspended due to the confusion that trailed the death of the three pupils.

The parent and the girl suspected to have shared the biscuits, were reported to have been quizzed by the school authorities.

During a visit to the Kubwa General Hospital on Thursday, one of our correspondents observed relations of some sick pupils being attended to by hospital workers.

A hospital worker lamented the quick burial of the deceased pupils.

He said, “Why will they bury some children without ascertaining what killed them? It is not proper. The solution may be to have all the children immunised. How can anyone say they ate biscuits and died when there is no medical test to confirm this?”

The correspondent who got to the school at about 9.30am observed some teachers standing in groups to discuss the incident. Two police vans from the Kubwa division were stationed in the school.

A teacher said the girl who shared the said biscuits and her mother were questioned by the school authorities.

He said, “The girl and her mother have been invited. They met with the school authorities and they were not indicted in any way. The school is carrying out its own investigations. The pupils that were claimed to have died don’t even have their names in our register. We don’t believe the biscuit theory because a lot of people ate the biscuits.”

The FCTA Education Secretary, Tony Ogunleye, said, “Investigation is still ongoing. We will brief you properly when we are done.”

Copyright PUNCH.All rights reserved. This material, and other digital content on this website, may not be reproduced, published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in whole or in part without prior express written permission from PUNCH.

Punch Games

The General Superintendent, Deeper Christian Life Ministry, Pastor William Kumuyi, on Wednesday, urged Nigerians to support President Muhammadu Buhari in his efforts to end recession in the country.

He made the call during a media interaction on the forthcoming crusade with the theme “Emancipation Crusade”.

The crusade is scheduled to hold on October 30 at the National Stadium, Abuja.

The cleric, who was represented by the State Overseer, Deeper Life Bible Church, Federal Capital Territory, Pastor Joshua Esho, said there was need to exercise patience with the Buhari-led government.

He said, “We are passing through recession but it will not continue forever because God will solve every problem.

“I am still reiterating what I have said about the policies of this government that came in not up to two years.

“Nigerians should exercise patience with the government and it is not late because they have not done half of their tenure; we are to cooperate with the government.

“I don’t think criticism is what the government needs now. I believe it will be successful because God has something for this country.”

Kumuyi also said that the Church had declared that FCT being the heart of the nation would be visited by God through the Emancipation Crusade.

He expressed optimism that through crusade, there would be spiritual freedom, economic re-bounce and new horizon of hope for Nigeria.

He said, “Our getting out of the dark tunnel of recession is very close, and there is nothing to worry about.”

He then assured FCT residents that during the crusade, God would greatly manifest His supernatural wonders and break every bond of sin and wickedness.

He described the crusade as mother of all crusades held in the FCT “where God would set the people free from every yoke upon their lives as they approach the New Year.

“We can hear the joy of freedom at the National Stadium come Sunday, Oct. 30, 2016.

“We assure the people that this day and date will remain unforgettable and a time of outpouring of God’s supernatural power upon them.”

He highlighted ongoing preparation for the crusade and logistics put in place to ensure the success of the crusade, saying that participants were expected from the 10 regions that made the Deeper Life Bible Church in the FCT.

The regions according to him include Abuja, Bwari, Gwagwalada, Lugbe Karmo, Kubwa, Kuje, Kwali, Nyanya, and Orozo.

He said that the church had already made adequate transportation arrangements for participants.

Also, security at the venue had been guaranteed as relevant security agencies would be on ground to protection lives and property in and outside the main bowl of the stadium.

He said vehicular movement would be properly coordinated by the respective traffic agencies, while medical team would to be present at strategic points to attend to urgent medical issues.

“And we want to make mention that all participants will be thoroughly screened before gaining entrance into the venue”, he stressed.